>> just very quickly, we also heard from lindsey graham, senator lindsey graham, senator joni ernst abouts whole issue of women in combat. you know, there is another name for lindsey graham and joni ernst, it's colonel. lindsey graham is a retired colonel in the u.s. air force, a judge advocate general, and as you just pointed out, willie, joni ernst is a lieutenant colonel. these are two people who know the force, they know the women, they understand their capabilities. i think of all the opposition to pete hegseth, all the different things we've talked about, i would draw a line under what colonel lindsey graham and colonel joni ernst have to say. >> all right. retired four-star navy admiral james stavridis and richard haass, thank you both very much for coming on this morning. >>> and coming up, we will take a break from politics to discuss the latest college football playoff rankings right now alabama is in the field of 12 teams, but there are some who say the tide does not deserve it. pablo torrey is here to talk about that and a lot more. "morning joe" is coming right back. and a lo

. >> hearing from lindsey graham, i mean, you heard from susan collins. i think she was always you know, people were skeptical of whether that would happen. but to hear lindsey graham talk about the difficulty, i mean, that is one of donald trump's closest allies on capitol hill. >> well, exactly and i would assume that the two of them, donald trump and lindsey graham, are going to have a conversation at some point particularly given the kind of warning shots that we just heard from lindsey graham. i mean, the fact that he came out there and said, this means that he actually does have true concerns about this, and that does give the people who are sitting at mar-a-lago watching all of this cause for concern. >> and so when they look at that, i mean, the question is ultimately, does this come down to to trump himself making this decision? because, you know, when i was thinking about, you know obviously there's allegations even from his own mom in this email that she later said she apologized for about sexual misconduct, sexual assault, that he has denied.

here's senator lindsey graham. senator graham, i want to ask you about your comment about i gave him earlier. do you think that he can get confirmed? sen. okay. all right so senator graham, with your sister, i hope he has a nice day with her he didn't want to comment right now about that but about hegseth. but you heard what he said earlier. i was talking about senator kevin cramer of north dakota. he was i had asked him about the last time a cabinet nominee had been rejected. that was john tower in 1989 over issues of womanizing and drunkenness. and i asked cramer about that. the fact that that standard was set back in 1989 compared to the allegations similar allegations that hegseth is facing now john tower was rejected over claims of womanizing and drunkenness houthis face similar allegations. the standards now just changed. >> well, i don't think there's much question that that the tolerance for certain things has changed, but i would say, manu, in many respects grace abounds all the more and i think that's not

>> no the at all. >> joining me now is lindsey graham of south carolina. nator graham, welcome back to meet the press. >> thank you. >> thank you so much for being here. i want to start overseas in syria. i know that you have been quite focused on the conflict there. the fact that president bashar alasad, creating a power vacuum. you expressed concerns that there could be a resurgence of isis in syria. president-elect trump said the u.s. should not get involved in syria. is that the right approach, senator? >> well, leave it up to the syrians to form their new government, what kind of country they want to be to a point. we have an interest in preventing isis from coming back on the battlefield. they reigned terror in america, all over europe, slaughtering people. isis fighters are killing machines. they want to purify islam. they want to take down the king of jordan, they want to replace the ua with a theocracy. they want to drive us out of the mideast and they want to destroy our friends in israel. 50,000 isis fighters under the control of kurdish allies i

no the truth is lindsey graham doesn't care about these attacks.ere he can because that's what he advocates for. to his credit is he honest about it. i'm not attacking him for it. if that's your problem sit pete in front of you and ask how he would run the department of defense what kind of policies the president wants and how pete hegseth would implement those policies. don't sit here and go in front of a camera and say character attacks are concerning because, listen, god forbid we put a microscope on any of those people. that's also the problem as well the elephant in the room is that the last book pete wrote highlighting the corruption, the dei in the military. he didn't make any friends in washington with it because a the loft people that are going to be voting, back this type of agenda. and so we have all these leaks. no one wants to go on record. some of the stuff has been discredited. and i just think that the voters have to put the senators on notice, right? >> listen, part of the reason why president biden is such a failure is how he with

not at all. >> joining me now is senator lindsey graham of south carolina.come back to "meet the press "qwest. >> thank you. >> thank you. thank you so much for being here. i want to start with syria. i know you have been quite focused on the conflict there. the fact that president bashar al assad has be overturned by rebels creating a power vacuum there. i know you've expressed some concerns that there could be a resurgence of isis in syria. i want to ask you, president-elect trump said the u.s. should, quote, not get involved in syria. is that the right approach, senator? >> well, i'm -- leaving it up to the syrians to form their new govevernment d what kind country they want to be to a point, but we do have an interest from having isis from coming back on the battlefield. for five years they reigned terror in america all over europe slaughtering people. isis fighters are killing machines. they want to the purify islam. they want to take down the king of jordan, the king of saudi arabia, and they want to replace the uae with a theocracy. you don't want the

and we've seen lindsey graham, who kind of wavered on him last week coming to his side.ood movement for pete hegseth. >> and last week was big for him. i think he has momentum behind him. joni ernst really clarifying. number one clarifying what the issue was with him first. right. she had this nebulous concern, never really spelled it out. but then in a meeting with him, both spelled it out and remedied it in that same meeting and intensively got behind the nomination, which i think there is some momentum around. then it just comes down to collins, murkowski, and then one other person. is it mcconnell? is it somebody else? but, you know, if you're not murkowski and you're not collins, you have their own incentives. are you really going to be that third person who doesn't even defeat him, per se? but is the person just kind of sticking their neck out voting no? and you're right. like he obviously was there was a show of support there. and i think he's on track as of today. everything we know. no one else coming forward, everything we know today on track to be confirmed. >

what do you think what lindsey graham said about this nda means going forward for hegseth?ell, i mean, i wanted to touch on the trump appearing with him at the army-navy game. >> we know how much trump values television and camera time. and so that is illustrative in a pretty impactful way when it comes to the confirmation fight. i mean, look, lindsey graham is suggesting in his comments as part of that interview that if there's more information that comes out, maybe then i'll have to reassess. but he seems to be now, despite a couple of weeks ago, saying that these are concerning reports about hegseth seems to be on board. and it seems that after a very rocky road, hegseth seems to be much more on the straight and narrow when it comes to getting to this confirmation. we shall see. of course. but there is this enhanced pressure campaign that seems to be growing on some of these more moderate republicans, the joni ernst, the thom tillis of the world that are in cycle this election or in 2026, rather, that they could face primary challenges if they're not sufficiently loyal t

there is lindsey graham to a degree. the likelihood that lindsey graham winds up bucking president trump on a secretary of defense nomination is small. ernst is under incredible pressure from the grassroots, the right wing. that is the state, iowa, he won by 13 points. she is up for reelection this cycle. the likelihood of her saying no politically speaking is low but we will have to wait and see. she has not said no, she has not said yes. on friday she and pete's sake -- she and pete hegseth said they had a second productive meeting. if that gets thought it is hard to see how he winds up without a majority of the republican conference. it is expected right now that susan collins of maine and lisa murkowski of alaska and senator mitch mcconnell, the former leader are no votes. that is expected. that is enough with three no votes to get confirmed. they feel relatively good about it. the trump transition team does. they believe time is in their favor as long as they can keep grinding the clock. on december 20 republican se

take lindsey graham who has been loyal to trump. enough is enough. i have tried to be helpful. when this wisconsin supreme court ruled 4-3 that they didn't violate the supreme -- the constitution of wisconsin, i agreed with the three, but i accept the four. if al gore can accept 5-4 he is not president, i can accept wisconsin 4-3. fraud. they say there's 66,000 people in georgia under 18 voted. how many people believe that? i ask, give me ten. they said 8,000 felons in prison in arizona voted. give me ten. hadn't got one. does that say there's problems in every election? i don't buy thchlt enough is enough. we gotta end it. vice president pence, what they are asking you to do, you won't do because you can't. fur a conservative, this is the most offensive concept in the world that a single person could disenfranchise 155 million people. >> enough is enough. quote unquote. until it wasn't. then there's mitch mcconnell. i want to be clear and precise. he has previously said, pardoning the attackers was a bad idea in the past. now that

south carolina's senior senator lindsey graham whose record of weakness in the face of trump treasure been reported now as a strong supporter of pete hegseth but even lindsey graham yesterday added the word unless to his support with pete hegseth. >> these allegations are disturbing but they are anonymous. >> unless something else comes out, so if more allegations come out who knows how lindsey graham votes come he told kristin welker on meet the press that pete hegseth told him that he would release the woman who accuses him of rape from the nondisclosure agreement you signed when pete hegseth paid her an undisclosed amount of hush money, pete hegseth's lawyer immediately threatened defamation lawsuit against the woman if she speaks publicly adding i suspected that she is not going to come forward at all and there is no benefit it's all downside. and the downside now includes threats of litigation from hegseth, he claims the encounter was consensual and no charges were ever filed against him, no criminal charges. former heroin addict and convicted drug criminal, robert kennedy junior

i'm on call lindsey graham. let's have a look at how lindsey is featured over the last year. on your must go mules on the video you. it looks like only a middle aged, gay white male who loves to see young man died. freed, you're going to tell them how to fight the war. you're going to tell them. yeah, i wanna get a directional looking at the blood and guts about of strip when it comes to is role . getting in trouble. old linda lindsey graham doesn't pay male prostitutes to visit his home and united states, and there is no evidence of that whatsoever. so i have to clarify that completely lost. he says they say when the video or you go to any allied canada breton, germany, france. if you try to help the i c c, we're going to sanction you by and you saw a little justin in canada and his position. what you the penalty be. wish a crush your economy. canadians get ready. i mean, does he get to decide who's economy gets crushed? what would you do in america? if somebody came across, i'm border raped women, but babies enough, it's what do we do after pearl harbor? we went to all out

uh, what would it be without a good, a lindsey lindsey graham. you know, he does love as will, and lindsey had, well, you could probably call you a complete meltdown when he hear that the all i see see who we saw back in the day. and it was a very evidence based organization noon, a great job doing a great job when it comes to is role getting in trouble, old linda lindsey graham and doesn't pay male prostitutes to visit his home and united states. and there is no evidence of that whatsoever. so i have to clarify that completely lost his fist. they say when the video or you go to any allied canada breton, germany, france. if you try to help the i c. c, we're going to sanction you by. and you saw a little justin in canada and his position. what should the penalty be for you say, crush your economy? canadians get ready. i mean, does he get to decide who's economy gets crushed? i know he likes to do the crushing of something else, pun speaking, of getting crushed. it looks like the canadian economy is about to get a kick in the notes from the big don,

watch lindsey graham. he brings every one of them into his office and dances with them, and says how he's going to vote. that's a yes. okay, lindsey graham is what a yes looks like. mitch mcconnell has not said yes. susan collins has not said yet. they're not close to 50 yet. >> the reason i personally believe they're going to put them all through, you talk about mitch mcconnell. here's the level of courage, okay, of mitch mcconnell. somebody who could not vote to impeach someone he believed was guilty. this is what he said to the financial times literally within the last few days. we're in a very, very dangerous world right now. reminiscent of before world war ii, says mcconnell. even the slogan is the same, america first. that's what they said in the 1930s. thanks a lot, mcconnell, who has done literally nothing to stop us from going back to the '30s, and whipped votes to save trump from himself. that's the level of courage we're expecting against pete hegseth. i wouldn't count on it. >> wouldn't count o

so if more allegations come out, who knows how lindsey graham votes.ld kristen welker on "meet the press" that pete hegseth told him he would release the woman who accuses him of rape from the nondisclosure agreement she signed when pete hegseth paid her an undisclosed amount of hush money. pete hegseth's lawyer immediately threatened a defamation lawsuit against the woman if she speaks publicly adding, "i suspect these not going to come forward at all. there's no benefit. it's all downside," and the downside now includes threats of litigation from pete hegseth. pete hegseth claims the encounter was consensual and no criminal charges were ever filed against him. former heroin addict and convicted drug criminal robert kennedy jr. has become the first nominee for health and human services secretary who has ever been questioned about his support for the polio vaccine. >> reporter: mr. kennedy, what's your position on the polio vaccine? >> reporter: do you mind repeating when you said previously about the polio vaccine? >> reporter: do you support it? >> y

there is lindsey graham to a degree. the likelihood that lindsey graham winds up bucking president trump on a secretary of defense nomination is small. ernst is under incredible pressure from the grassroots, the right wing. that is the state, iowa, he won by 13 points. she is up for reelection this cycle. the likelihood of her saying no politically speaking is low but we will have to wait and see. she has not said no, she has not said yes. on friday she and pete's sake -- she and pete hegseth said they had a second productive meeting. if that gets thought it is hard to see how he winds up without a majority of the republican conference. it is expected right now that susan collins of maine and lisa murkowski of alaska and senator mitch mcconnell, the former leader are no votes. that is expected. that is enough with three no votes to get confirmed. they feel relatively good about it. the trump transition team does. they believe time is in their favor as long as they can keep grinding the clock. on december 20 republican se

>> we expect this meeting between pam bondi and senator lindsey graham to happen late afternoon todaythe judiciary committee, not going to be chair the next two years but he is a senior member of that committee and a firm outspoken ally of donald trump and precisely the kind of person that donald trump is going to want strongly in favor of this nominee making the case to other senators to support her. we'll be paying attention to what he says coming out of the meeting. if he's not strongly on board with her that could be a problem. we don't expect trump to have problems with this senator in particular. she was also expected to meet with the incoming chair of this committee, chuck grassley, during this hour but that was postponed due to flight delays and that could happen later today. jose? >> what other trum picks are scheduled to be on capitol hill this week? >> the big one we're watching for is tulsi gabbard. reported just before the thanksgiving break she was expected here in the first week of december meeting with senators. she's an unconventional pick and senators will have quest

on the other side of the aisle, that's something we heard from senator lindsey graham.int about what happened under the obama administration and now under the biden administration, that is something republican allies of trump are also taking advantage of, right? graham finished his statement basically saying now trump has to come in and play clean-up, suggesting that somehow, although the obama and biden administrations may have led to this happening, again, there are some positive, some silver linings to take of this. but because so much is unknown of who this group is now, what their plan is going forward, there is, of course, not blanket trust coming from lawmakers and officials that i am talking to. there's still a lot unknown. this was, frankly, a surprise and unexpected toppling of damascus, of the assad regime so quickly. i don't think lawmakers up here were paying close attention to it in terms of everything else they had going on here. this isn't something they were talking to us about in the halls over the last couple of days as there's so much going on within

lindsey graham went out and said i agree with president trump.f his key issues back in the old days >> yes. 2008. >> and, to have someone like lindsey graham, that is not stephen miller, not a radical maga, that shows they embraced it throughout the party and the infrastructure. maybe they don't believe it will actually happen, maybe they will think it will be caught up in courts but still to eddie's point it is signal, they are sending a signal we don't want these people here and it is happening across the country. one last thing because we lose some of this stuff. sometimes the most practical political argument on all of this, though, is going back to prices. trump, we keep being told by the smarties, trump is here because of the price of eggs. a lot of people. and the whole interview with kristen, his whole agenda is tariffs and massive tax cuts for the wealthy and it is deportations. you can like any of those on the merits but they are all inflationary. >> correct. >> the only thing they are proposing that is not is doge. >> we don't know if

but when you're hearing from people who are trump's closest allies on capitol hill like lindsey graham, as you were there talking about the difficulties that they believe that pete hegseth is going to be facing when that confirmation hearing does happen. if it happens, that's a sign of really just the trouble. and it's certainly not lost on people at mar-a-lago. i've been speaking to them about this nomination, anderson, and how they're feeling about it. and even they have raised concerns as moore has continued to come out necessarily because of the pile up and the questions of what this means for republican senators given they can only afford to lose three of them and plenty of them are sounding skeptical on capitol hill today, more so even than they were about two weeks ago when when all of this first started and there were questions about what this was going to look like. and so i think that's the thing to watch a sign that the trump team is taking seriously the concerns that you heard from those republican senators is that they are sending pete hegseth out to do media tomorrow. i'm

lindsey graham, been there forever. y has a problem with pete, joanie ernst, leading campaign to get rid of pete, they need 3 or 4 republicans to defeat him and i would say this, his nomination must go forward and people must vote on the record, there must be a roll call vote so we the people know how every single senator votes, every single one of them especially the new republican majority. how did they get a new republican majority? thanks to donald trump and we the people and we the people have just about enough of this. i want to go down memory lane a little bit. it's not just eric swawell who by the way slept with a chinese spy, remember her, fang fang and he sits on the judiciary committee, homeland security committee and nancy pelosi -- of course, we will not remove him from homeland security, he's our guy. what about the lying of the senate. anybody remember ted kennedy, he fit like all the buckets, boozer, womennizer and on top of that trapaquitic, many have in the background, not many. they wanted him to be pr

it requires the senate to give advice and consent, here's the line for lindsey graham. presume to support cabinet picks by every president not just democrat and republican presidents but every president unless i have a good reason not to. i look at qualifications. if you look at my record i vote for almost everybody because i don't like whether or not i would've picked this person is whether or not the person picked meets basic qualifications, i'm not turned over to the election by saying i'm not going to vote for a person that i wouldn't have picked whether he be republican or democrat. you all president trump $5 million in advertising, today i will meet the press, he sung your praises by helping kash patel i talked to president trump before i came on the show you've gone to bat for cash, let me tell the line for kash patel, you drew it, he's very qualified and i think is been beat up unfairly, remember the fbi where james comey signed warrants based on false information where an fbi lawyer set false information to the fisa court and got prosecuted. remember the fbi th

in the senate i look forward to supporting s1 60 senator lindsey graham's 20 week abortion ban. [applause] and when it comes to protecting innocent lives they look to god because every life is a blessing. in washington i will work with president trump to continue the incredible economic progress our nation has seen. because of our president's policies we are growing our economy and jobs at aom record pace. every day new jobs are created for working moms andnd dads. for a young graduate and that waitress just looking for a chance. i've been soft-spoken. i've been called a lot worse. [laughter] in congress i may not be the loudest voice inn the room but you don't have to be shrill to be tough. when it comes to fighting for georgia i will never back down. [applause] no one will fight harder for our state and for our nation and our president and for our here's the thing, contrary to what we might see in the media not every strong american woman is a liberal. many of us are conservative and proud of it. [applause] with all of the important things we have done in washington and here a

. >> that's republican senator, lindsey graham, of south carolina. his continued support for defense secretary nominee, pete hegseth. but, donald trump's pick to lead america's intelligence agencies seems to be having a more difficult time winning over lawmakers. >>> meanwhile, mitch mc.com, sent mcconnell, ahead of the visit today to capitol hill. we'll go through all of that straight ahead. >>> and we'll bring you the latest on the apparent drone sightings that are spreading across several states. as well as the criticism of the federal government's response. >>> good morning and welcome to way too early on this monday, december 16. i'm jonathan. thanks for starting your day and week with us. we have a lot to get to this morning. we'll begin with some of president-elect donald trump's controversial cabinet picks, trying to win over members of congress. tom tillis is warning the pressure campaign from trump and his allies could backfire. speaking of fox news yesterday, senator tillis criticized those threatening to fund primary challenges against go

attorney general met with incoming senate judiciary chairman kruk grassly of iowa as well as senator lindsey grahamlated bondi on her nomination, graham conceded to reporters her confirmation hearings will likely be challenging. >> i've known her for a long time. she's very well qualified. i don't think president trump could have done better. the confirmation hearings will be challenging, as they should be, but i have every confidence she will acquit herself well, and there you go. >> there you go. joining us now msnbc political analyst, brandon buck. he was communications strategist and former aide to house speakers ryan and boehner. ryan, let's take each party at a time starting with the democrats. there is raskin's challenge to nadler seems to represent what some in the party want, just fresh faces. you know, raskin obviously raised his national profile during those impeachment hearings, but there is hope here of a new generation of leadership. what's your assessment on, first of all, an interparty challenge like this, and whether you think that's what democrats need. >> yeah, it's a real seat c

south carolina cep tore lindsey graham pushing for congress to pass a border security bill through theciliation process, that would be the priority. graham told me he wants to address border security first before tax reform. the push coming as the dangerous venezuelan gang tren de aragua made its mark in north dakota. police arrested a suspected gang member early last month, charging him with felony theft for allegedly stealing more than $20,000 from a local bank. north dakota is the 17th state with a tren de aragua presence according to leaked memo obtained by the new york post. joining us now is senator kevin cramer. great to have you this morning. ththank you for being here. your reaction to the tren de aragua gang in north dakota? >> i wish it was surprising. unfortunately u it's not becaue as we know the reach of these gangs is pretty much ubiquitous. they can get anywhere they need to get very quickly including into the borders of the united states rather easily. this is why closing the border is such a high priority and while i know that many people would like to see the tax cut

let's have a listen to senator lindsey graham on "meet the press" today and what he had to say aboutetary of defense. >> i'm in a good place with pete unless something i don't know about comes out. these allegations are disturbing, but they're anonymous. you're not going to destroy his nomination based on anonymous sources. people have to come forward and make credible allegations. we'll see if they do. >> governor whitman, lindsey graham never fails to mystify and amaze because he is like a weather vane. one minute he's like oh, i don't know about pete hegseth and now he's like oh, he's in good stead. what do you think? do you think that the republicans will stiffen their spines and say no to pete hegseth? >> well, they are only going to say no so many times. that's the problem. they have to pick and choose. i think he definitely -- rfk and pete hegseth are two of the ones that i would certainly say no on, but it's going to be tough for them because there's going to be a whole lot of pressure and it's the same thing. it's kind of analogous to the last discussion about putting pressu

he met patel, just met with lindsey graham and graham also sounded positive about patel's prospects as well. >> brianna. all right. manu raju, thank you so much. we have cnn senior political analyst gloria borger and cnn chief national affairs correspondent jeff zeleny with us now. i mean, it's interesting because ernst is saying now she'll support hegseth through the process. that's not the same as saying confirmation. but at the same time, there's a range of possibilities for why she seems to be shifting more positively in his direction. >> well, first of all, there's a lot of outside pressure on her. she's up in 26 and they're running ads in her state about pete hegseth and how fabulous he is. and i think she's gotten the message from the team, trump, that you ought to get in line or this is going to be really difficult for you and conservatives are hounding her. so i think she has you know, she is she has gotten the message. on the other hand, she's also talked to hegseth, and he's promised her an audit of the pentagon financial audit, which she really wants to appoint a senior off

take a listen to how lindsey graham put it to our colleague kristen welker yesterday. >> i'm in a goodthese allegations are disturbing, but they're anonymous. >> pete hegseth did sign a non-disearn non-disclosure agreement with this person that came forward and do you want to see that? do you want that information to be released? >> he said -- yeah. he told me he would release her from that agreement. >> now i am told that republican senators are hearing is there going to be another shoe to drop? bottom line, ana, we'll not know until the hearing and they can only lose three and the fourth defection tanks the nomination unless they swoop in to rescue it. >> signaling hegseth's sexual assault accuser, but there's a catch. they're still threatening to sue her? >> right. lindsey graham telling kristen there that he would seek through this confirmation process to allow her to publicly speak and break that previously signed nondisclosure agreement and at the same time tim parlatore had spoken just a few weeks ago suggesting that if she were to make false statements about pete hegseth that t

that is why for example, congressman scott perry and senator lindsey graham fought back against the andure of his phone, during these january 6th investigations because they claim they were just carrying out their duties as members of congress and in both cases, while federal investigators were able to proceed with perry on one hand and lindsey graham and the georgia investigation on others, there were able they were not able to explore and things they had to return because courts decided in both instances that there was a portion of their role that related to the work they were doing in congress. here, folks like liz cheney were carrying out the congressional function of investigations. it'll be very difficult, i think, for the future department of justice to articulate why that protection is not available to folks like liz cheney or senator schiff. >> liz cheney in fact has come out with a statement essentially saying that she is not backing down, and there is no legal basis for him to go after. sarah, more than 1500 defendants now have been charged related to january 6th, more than 1

that's what republican senator lindsey graham said about donald trump's defense secretary pick, pete hegseth. the former fox news host is back up on capitol hill today trying to lock down support after serious allegations of misconduct emerged against him. hegseth will meet with three key senators who have been critical of the president elect in the past. there they are right there. joining us now to talk about this democratic senator, richard blumenthal of connecticut. he's on the armed services and veterans affairs committees. senator, what are your concerns hearing in the reporting about pete hegseth, and that is that trump world is putting a lot of pressure on some of these republican senators to get to. yes, on hegseth. are you hearing any of that? >> there's no question that donald trump is heightening the heat, turning up the screws, and to some extent, turning the tide for hegseth. part of the threat is that they will encounter primaries in their states. their fear is not democratic opposition in these red states. it's the threat of a primary against them. inspired and suppor

hegseth, this is notable because while on one hand, he has privately suggested to the likes of lindsey graham and others that he would be willing to essentially null that nondisclosure agreement with the woman who alleged the sexual assault by him. but at the same time, pete hegseth's attorney for the last several weeks has threatened to sue this woman for defamation if she were to make any alleged statements about pete hegseth. and of course, their versions of events run counter to one another. and so one on hand he's suggesting that he would be fine with her coming and putting her name and story out publicly even before the u.s. senate at the national airwaves, his attorney is publicly suggesting that they would be willing to file a lawsuit against her, which, of course, her name has been private here from the settlement that they struck in the aftermath of that sexual assault allegation and the police report that was filed. >> victoria, what position is hegseth in today vis-a-vis two weeks ago? >> well, in terms of trump's support, president-elect trump is going to be with hegseth until he

the chief of staff or joe biden the link off parts of the border wall as we discussed with lindsey grahamdollar, today, donald trump responded to that idiocy, take a look. >> mr. trump: but now, we have ordered a and additional 200 miles of wall, very expensive, and now it is about double the price of what it would have been six years ago. and the administration is trying to sell it for five cents on the dollar, knowing we are getting ready to put it up, and what they are doing is it really an act, it is almost a criminal act. i am asking today, joe biden to please stop selling the wall, we are going to use that to create a strong barrier and it worked, that is why our numbers were so good, it really worked and it worked well. and it is very expensive to do and i'm asking could joe biden to stop his people from giving get away, it is something that people cannot even believe is happening so, and hopefully joe will be able to stop it. >> sean: by the way, by doing good as a joe is not hurting donald trump, this hurts the country. trump will replace the border wall, the materials that they

and on sunday, south carolina senator lindsey graham revealed that in his conversations with hegseth,egseth told him that he would release from a nondisclosure agreement a woman who accused him of sexual assault. >> he told me he would release her from that agreement. yeah, i mean, just think about what we're talking about. i'd want to know if anybody nominated for a high level job in washington legitimately assaulted somebody i've known pete for years. i met him in afghanistan. i've heard nothing but good things about his service over there. >> hegseth has denied the accusations, saying it was a consensual encounter. steve contorno cnn, west palm beach, florida republican senator mitt romney says he's standing by his criticism of donald trump's character, but he's acknowledging the president elect's grip on the party. >> romney says mrs. trump and the maga movement now define the gop. >> maga is the republican party and donald trump is the republican party today. and if you were to ask me who the nominee will be in 2028, i think it will be jd vance. the republican party has become th

lindsey graham is chairman of the budget and he's been holding hearings we've been meeting with the other committee meetings that will be giving the instructions to provide the funding and there's no controversy from the standpoint of providing president trump the funds that he needs to secure the border and start the deportation process. maria: president biden is nowhere to be found in the spending bill fight we've not seen or heard on anything this month buddies now trying to ram through last-minute spending of his own is rolling out another $4 billion in student loan forgiveness the massive loan handout we give 55000 public workers loan forgiveness. he's doing a lot of things as he walks out the door and nowhere to be found on the important spending issues. >> it seems like his administration. i'm not sure it's him and has the cognitive ability to do this but it seems his henchmen are doing everything that they can to shovel money out the door and sabotage the trump administration the incoming one. we cannot rely on good faith on the part of democrats to repair the damage that they did